Is this True!!

[JUDO Novice]

Since coming to this site I have heard a few people say that BJJ white belts can beat Judo blackbelts in ground fighting. I don't get it...Aren't these two fighting systems about the same on the ground? And wouldn't the Judo blackbelt have the upper hand being that he is a "blackbelt" he should have been doing groundwork all along. What do you guys think...


P.S.
At my Judo club we have one day
of just ground work. And we end
every class on other days with
30 minutes of free sparring on the
ground. We have class 5 days a week.
That's the only reason I asked.......

[StraightBlaster]

Traditional judo groundwork is not very good by todays standards. Things are changing tho, there are judo schools all over that are starting to teach good ground fighting.

[MrPoopy]

It depends on the judo club. The judo club I go to is a good club, but it seems like the instructor is the only one thats really great on the ground. He can tap me pretty quick. There are normally 2 brown belts in there that have been in judo for years and they are pretty good, but no more skillful than a bjj white belt. Personally I do not think they do enough mat work. And since this club is so tournament oriented, they want to get throws and pins more than submissions.

A while ago there was a judo black belt that came to my bjj class from some small town in kansas.. i can't remember where. I unfortuanately missed that class but what i heard is one of the white belts that hasn't even been in the class that long (6 months maybe) had no problem hanging with this guy. The white belt didn't end up tapping him, but he mounted him and rode him for several minutes until the judo guy just gave up. If the judo guy had decent mat work this would not have happened.

Don't misunderstand this as an insult to judo. I like judo a lot and wish I had time to do it more.

[Ice Phoenix]

Originally posted by JUDO Novice
Since coming to this site I have heard a few people say that BJJ white belts can beat Judo blackbelts in ground fighting. I don't get it...Aren't these two fighting systems about the same on the ground? And wouldn't the Judo blackbelt have the upper hand being that he is a "blackbelt" he should have been doing groundwork all along. What do you guys think...

It is true that Judo groundwork is a little out-of-date. It simply isn't well-rounded enough, due to the emphasis on pins and hold-downs in competitions. BJJ, Shootfighting, Sub Wrestling, etc, are all continually evolving and incorporating whatever works into their curriculums, rather than limiting themselves to traditional techniques and methods like Judo does. This is why Judo groundwork will never be as complete as that of these other systems.

In BJJ most blue belts are equal to a Judo black belt in ground-fighting ability. Sure a BJJ white belt might sometimes be able to beat a Judo black belt, but a white belt isn't an earned rank - no skill is required to have one. Only more experienced white belts should be able to do this.